Amazon Launches Initiative to Make All Deliveries Carbon Neutral

The company plans to reach the halfway point by 2030.

News

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Amazon announced plans this week to rely entirely on renewable energy and eradicate its massive carbon footprint.

On Monday the company published a blog post about the initiative, which it’s calling Shipment Zero. The proposal is scarce on tangible details, but the retail giant did commit to making half its shipments carbon neutral by 2030.

Long Way to Go

That means Amazon, one of the most powerful companies on Earth — and owned by the world’s richest person — will be about halfway to the goal line right around the UN’s deadlinefor when the world needs to have reduced its dependence on fossil fuels to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Still, even though it may take a while, it’s promising to see such a massive company announce plans to tackle its own environmental impact.

Full Report

Amazon plans to publish an account of its total carbon footprint sometime this year, according to Engadget, which may include details on aspects of Amazon’s business other than shipping, such as the energy used by its web services. But it remains unclear whether Amazon will commit to a rigorous self-analysis or if its report will be washed over by a public relations team.

If Shipment Zero is going to do any good, and if Amazon is really going to address its massive impact on the environment, we should hope it’s the former.